West Chester IKEA to open in March

A new IKEA store is scheduled to open in West Chester on March 12, so all you people looking for affordable home products have an opportunity to rejoice. Some of you are probably wondering, "What is an IKEA?" The answer is simple: it's a Swedish department store specializing in affordable home products, ranging from things as diverse as beds and sheets and rugs to things like kitchen supplies and other smaller items like light bulbs, as well as some Swedish food products. They also have a play area where you can leave your kids while you shop.

You might also be wondering what makes IKEA so different from other department stores. First, the layout is different from standard department stores; whereas others are wide and open, IKEA instead has customers travel along a prepared path through various displays so that they can decide what they want, write down its item number or item name if it's too big for the cart, and continue on at a leisurely pace.

If, however, customers are in a hurry, there are shortcuts through many of the displays that can cut travel time significantly.

The general philosophy is to take your time and look at everything, unless you know exactly what you want.

When you get to the end, you can pay for your items that fit in the cart, as well as what you jotted down on the provided note slips. Store personnel can then get everything out for you to put into your car.

All the larger products come packaged in flat, square boxes, in pieces ready to assemble, and, generally, IKEA provides everything necessary, beyond the occasional need for a screwdriver.

Yes, you put the furniture together yourself; however, it's nice furniture, and you're probably getting it more cheaply than at a standard furniture store, so it kind of balances out.

Finally, they also have things like small Swedish or European snacks, as well as coffee, so you can pick up some small treats while you're there too.